Kuwait's sports community reached a major milestone on Apr. 18 when the first-ever pickleball tournament was hosted in the country.

Sixty competitors of various skill levels took to the six courts at The British School of Kuwait in the town of Salwa during the one-day event, which also welcomed 10 sponsors and an estimated 100 spectators to enjoy the festivities.

Staging the tournament was a dream come true for Pickleball Kuwait founder Hani Haidar, who initially fell in love with the sport while pursuing his postgraduate studies at Bangor University in North Wales.

“I tried many different racket sports at Bangor. I saw on the website that you could book pickleball, but at first I didn’t really know what that was. I ended up booking it with my friends, just for fun, and we played it like table tennis because we didn’t know all the rules,” he recalled with a laugh. “I went on Google and YouTube to learn the rules, and then I searched on Facebook for pickleball clubs near me in Wales where I could play and learn. They taught me everything.”

Knowing that he would be leaving the UK in late 2023 after completing his master’s degree in electronic engineering, Haidar was committed to bringing his newfound pickleball knowledge to the masses back home in Kuwait.

With that goal in mind, he enrolled in the Pickleball Leaders Certification program conducted by Pickleball England, which provides participants with the basic skills and knowledge to introduce the game to others.

He took courses in Manchester and Swansea to become proficient in key pickleball concepts.

“I didn’t want to return to Kuwait without pickleball,” he insisted. “When I got back, I told my friends that we should start a club. I created an Instagram account and started marketing pickleball, and I invited people to try it out. The pickleball community in Kuwait is growing day by day. And just to make Pickleball Kuwait official, I also emailed the International Pickleball Federation and they were very supportive and gave us their approval.”

Even though courts are still rather scarce in Kuwait, Haidar is doing everything in his power to showcase pickleball nationwide every chance he gets.

He knows that building awareness and spreading the message matters more than ever.

“Over the past two years, we’ve done a lot of classes for kids, and we are offering school visits to teach students about pickleball. We are working with the kids, the adults, and we are trying to push seniors as well,” he explained. “We are also meeting with some people from the Ministry of Youth to be approved by them, and if that happens, that will create a team for Pickleball Kuwait to represent Kuwait in tournaments around the world. We would like to promote the sport, so we’re trying our best.”

The country’s inaugural pickleball tournament is a good indicator that things are definitely trending in the right direction.

Haidar couldn’t be happier with the way everything played out.

“Every court was full with players. It was an amazing day. I didn’t think we would end up like this. It was just me and two or three of my friends when we started, and now we hosted a big tournament like this, so it was very nice,” he praised. “I even told some friends to come to the car park because it was full. I told them that I dreamed of this day. It was very special.”

Pickleball in Kuwait is clearly in good hands with Haidar enthusiastically leading the charge.

With his persistence and determination, the sky’s the limit.

“When I first played pickleball, it was really amazing. I enjoy every moment when I’m playing, so I thought - ‘Yeah, this is the sport I want.’ It's a great workout for keeping in shape and a great hobby,” he said. “Pickleball has a bright future in Kuwait.”

It certainly does, and Haidar is hoping to see it flourish across the Persian Gulf where interest continues to spike in places like Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The more players, the better.

“I messaged some pickleball clubs in the Gulf area after seeing that there is a community that started, just like us. We visited Dubai to play and meet them. Dubai is the main one that has a lot of pickleball players and pickleball courts,” he said. “Next week, eight players from Kuwait will participate in the Dubai Open. We also have a WhatsApp group called the “GCC Group,” for the Gulf area, just to share our news and all the pickleball experiences with each other.”

These kinds of grassroots efforts deserve a round of applause.

Click here to learn more about Pickleball Kuwait.